For those of you who are close to our family, you may know that we have referred to Caroline as our "little honey badger" since she was just a couple weeks old. The reference stems from a youtube video narrating the activities of a very hungry "don't care" honey badger. And our baby has been the same way. She wants to eat - doesn't care where, why or when... And, her momma has been acutely aware of her schedule due to the MCAD - so between the two of us, we managed to bring her from the 50% percentile for weight at 2 weeks to the 97% at 2 months. This, apparently is a huge jump. So much so, that the doctor told me to back off on the feedings. I was so offended! My girl needs to go on a diet???
While I don't want an overweight child, EVERYTHING I've read indicates that breastfed infants can not be overfed and that they typically gain weight faster at first. So, I'm listening to my gut and the ONLY change I'm making is my alarm (which is used as an FYI)to every 3 hours instead of 2. If she makes it to 3, great... If she wants to eat sooner, that's fine too.
On a similar note, I did get a little more clarity on the "3-4" hours between feedings until 5 months. The metabolic counselor said that they want parents to be actively feeding their child at 4 hours - instead of just starting the process of making the bottle at 4 hours. That clarification has been such a relief!! If we go 3 1/2 hours during the night, I don't have to feel guilty :) Every little bit helps, right?
So, in light of both of these changes, I feel like a free woman... Today was the first day that I let her go 3 hours and I got so much more accomplished!
For fun, click here for the honey badger video... fair warning - profanity is used (which we think makes it a funnier video) - but probably not safe to watch around your kids.
No comments:
Post a Comment